Posttraumatic stress disorder and the injured worker. Part I.

PTSD occurs in a small but significant number of people who experience life-threatening events. When a disorder occurs, it can have severe and long-lasting effects on a person's ability to work and function effectively. Particularly effective treatment interventions give patients the opportunity to synthesize and integrate their traumatic memories. Such strategies increase their ability to more narrowly limit the traumatic event and broaden personal, occupational, and social experiences that are healthy and positive. The results is that, although the traumatic experience may be recalled, it is seen as a single autobiographical event in a rich chain of personal experiences.